Meet Me in Montana
by awesomebooks
Summary: Different idea for Danny proposing to Lindsay, sweet and short 3-shot. Based on the song Meet me in Montana by Dan Sea;s and Marie Osmond. Hope you enjoy. Review to let me know how I'm doing please. :) Not rated K for mild swearing.
1. Chapter 1

Meet Me in Montana

_**Note:**_ Inspiration came from the beautiful song "Meet Me in Montana" by Dan Seals and Marie Osmond. I've always loved this song, and now apparently my mind has changed its title to "The Danny/Lindsay song." Without further ado, enjoy this little fluffy three-shot. Also, this takes place after season 3/before season 4. Also, I am only on season 4, so I apologize if some of my details about any are off and if this has actually been done in the show it's just my perspective.

Disclaimer: I don't own anything.

It had been a long week and exceedingly strenuous and gloomy- not that any day at work was real upbeat and joyful when one worked with the dead all the time and. Lindsay had gotten off work early and didn't even bother to drive home to her apartment to pack anything extra before heading off to the airport. She had planned on flying to Montana for a few days and had thrown only essentials in a bag that could hardly classify as a purse before heading to the lab that morning. There were five days ahead of her that were ready to be spent in her hometown with her family where she belonged, where she was home. The only bad thing about flying home was that she wouldn't be able to see Danny for about a week. It was hard for her to admit, but she had fallen for him hard, despite their attempts to conceal all their romantic feelings for each other and only maintain a professional relationship. They had become an item, but still tried to stay low-key, especially at work and it was only a matter of time before they would spend eternity together. She just knew it, not how, but she could just feel it.

Danny was at his locker, changing from his work clothes into his T-shirt and sweats, and he was just about to slam the door closed and go home to his apartment when a note slipped out of his locker and onto the floor. He snatched it up, reading it over, not expecting too much to come out of it.

_Danny,_

_ I'm going home until Wednesday; I want you to meet my parents. Meet me in Montana._

_ -Montana._

Her note was so simple and cut to the point in style, but Danny had a feeling of great honor and a sense of nervousness building inside of him. At least, he was thankful for, Lindsay had attached a plane ticket for him scheduled for him to leave at 5 the next morning. _You sure can keep me on my toes, Montana, I was just gonna kick back and watch baseball this weekend. Not that I care. _His thoughts changed abruptly, _I'd give up a weekend of baseball for you, I'd give up baseball completely for five minutes with you. _The thought came so natural, it was strange and unexpected, but every word was true. _Dammit Montana, you just proved me wrong in my bet with Mac. _Suddenly he pulled over and parked to run into a store with the intention to purchase a special gift for Lindsay.

Packing his bag was easy, but probably one of the most daunting tasks he had ever faced in respects to meeting a girl's parents. Never before had it been such a task to decide what to wear and plan how to act around the family of his girlfriend. He'd always had the philosophy that if they didn't like him, too bad, it really didn't matter to him one way or another, but the thought of meeting Lindsay's parents honestly filled him with nerves and tangled feelings of excitement and hesitation. Once his bag was packed and he was in his old beaten leather chair, he grabbed his phone and dialed Mac's number and was relieved when his familiar voice and answer sounded over the other, "Taylor,"

"Yo Mac, it's Danny." He was getting more comfortable talking with Mac, but still was a bit more reserved than he'd be with anyone who wasn't his boss.

"What's the matter?" Mac asked, assuming that Danny wouldn't call him about anything that wasn't important. "I thought you clocked out a little while ago?"

"I did…" Danny struggled to think of what to say next,

"Then what's going on? I'm working, I can't just stop and chat?" Mac was struggling to control his temper, that was endanger of erupting over the little change in plans due to being on the phone.

"Oh… Well, I don't... It's not important."

"Yeah it is, otherwise you wouldn't have called. Now tell me so I can get back to work here." The way Mac was so stern but at the same time seemed so interested it was strange.

"Um… Can we meet up somewhere when you get off? I need to ask you some things that wouldn't be appropriate to ask over the phone." He felt uneasy asking Mac this, while they'd just recently started getting along better it was nothing more than Danny worked under Mac and he was the boss. He was surprised to hear a new tone take over in Mac's reply, it was one of shock mixed with concern and unusual pleasure,

"Well I can be at your place in 10 minutes, if that's okay, I'm just working to work, I'm off the clock."

"Yeah… That'd be real nice, Mac, thank you."

"Still at the same address?"

"Yeah." He hung up and went to the kitchen to make a pot of coffee, dialing a number of a local pizza place to place an order for delivery. _This is nuts. _Danny thought to himself as he waited for Mac to arrive, _most guys would be asking their dads or buddies about this, not their boss. Why didn't I ask Don? Who asks their boss these questions? Still, I feel like Mac's the only guy I know that could answer this kind of stuff. _A knock on the door cued him to get up and answer it.

"Hey Mac." Danny greeted more casually than he would in the lab, but still extended his hand for a handshake; Mac accepted it but glanced at it inquiringly.

"So what happened?"

"Oh I just needed to ask you a few things, please Boss, take a seat." He gestured to his ratty old couch, "Sorry about my house I should've cleaned a little before you came."

"Danny, I'm not your boss right now, I'm your friend. Let loose, you don't need to be on edge around me." Mac gave his warm and shy smile to emphasize his point.

"Oh its not you Bo-Mac. It's just… I'm distracted, sit down and make yourself at home, I'll be in a second. I just made a pot of coffee, want some? Or a beer maybe?"

"Coffee is fine, I have to work tomorrow." The doorbell rang just as Danny was pouring coffee for Mac and grabbing a beer for himself.

"Can you get the door, Mac?"

"Your dinner?" Mac asked setting it on the table.

"And yours. I thought if my boss, excuse me friend, was coming over it was only right to offer you some dinner. I'd of cooked, but let me tell you I am ono cook at all. Here let me get the money to give to the pizza boy"

"Thank you, that's kind of you, and don't worry about paying him I already did." Danny handed him a plate as well as grabbed one for himself and once they grabbed a couple slices of pizza each and their beverage of choice. "So why'd you really call me, Danny?" He asked, still chewing some of the food. "I'm sure you didn't just call me because you wanted to eat pizza and hang out."

"Well you told Lindsay and me to take the week off."

"Yeah…" It was evident that he, as well as anyone, needed more elaboration.

"She flew back to Montana today, and she left me a ticket and a note in my locker. I'm flying in tomorrow; she wants me to meet her family." Mac smiled, not saying anything, but it was knowing and the emotion he was evidently feeling was undetectable. "I never thought I'd fall for anyone… Not like I have her Mac, you don't know what I mean, well you probably do but-" Mac cut him off,

"You bet I do," He fiddled with his wedding ring, tarnished with time but still a symbol, a sad smile painted on his face.

"I stopped by the jewelry store after work."

"And…" His eyes tempted him to go on, a look that said he knew the end of the story, but just wanted to hear it from Danny.

"And nothing!" Danny flushed, laughing a little.

"Bull!" Mac stood up a little, pointing a finger at Danny, "Bull!" He repeated, "You don't just go in a jewelry store and not buy anything when you have a girl involved!"

"No, Mac, I didn't! I wanted to… But I didn't." He curbed the topic quickly, "Can I ask you something personal?" Mac nodded, "How… Well… What was it like… I mean…"

"How'd I know I was in love with Claire?" He completed Danny's sentence, and Danny nodded, but Mac was talking again before he could say anything. "I don't know… I just did. I mean, she was stunning. She was absolutely beautiful- inside and out- and she was smart, the most caring person you'd ever meet." He stopped, gulping and started back up, "She had a sense of humor like no other, and no matter what she was doing when you talked to her she made you feel like you were the most important person in her world. Excuse me." He grabbed a tissue from Danny's table and wiped his eyes, but couldn't stop the formation of tears that had begun. "She could put up with me and my shit. My moods, my military time, my police work, and once I became a detective." He sniffled, "She hated it, said I was gone too much, and I was. I wish I wouldn't have been." He began to toy with his wedding band again, "She was perfect, and I loved her… I always will." He hung his head momentarily to collect his thoughts, "I miss her so much. So much…"

"Hey Mac, you okay?" Danny had never seen Mac in this way before, normally so rough and strong, he was falling apart on his couch but fighting to stay strong. He got up from his chair but wasn't sure what to do, but seated himself again when Mac waved his hand and started talking again,

"That's love… for me. Claire was the best person I ever knew." He was struggling to finish but he was determined to, "She was who I wanted to get old with, father her kids, I'd of laid my life down for her. I can't describe it, nobody really can because it's different for everyone, I think. The love I had-have- for Claire and the love you have for Lindsay may be the exact same kind of love, but they could be described completely different. The love, though, is one that lasts forever. 9/11 took my most precious gift away from me; the woman I thought I'd grow old with was taken before she was 35! It was the worst feeling I could ever imagine and I wouldn't wish that feeling on my worst enemy." He was, surprisingly, able to compose himself exceedingly well and soon was able to carry a conversation again, changing the topic back, "So, you went to the jewler! Did you get the ring?"

"Mac!" Danny yelled in mock anger and the two shared a laugh, "No/\" He suddenly got real serious, " Like I said I wanted to, but I didn't."

"Why not?"

"I love her, Mac, more than anything!" Danny announced, "I want to spend my life with her, and eternity beyond. Everything you said about your Claire is how I feel for her, plus some."

"Then, boom, go and buy that ring." Mac reversed Danny's catchphrase on him. They talked for about an hour more about various different aspects of life and love and anything that came up.

"What if she says no? I couldn't deal with that, I'd feel like such an idiot." Danny asked out of nowhere.

"Danny," He sat up and prompted Danny to follow, and then connected with his eyes, "You just proclaimed your love of her to me. The way you look at her, how you called me down here tonight, the way she looks at you, the way you act around each other, and it's all connected. You two care about each other immensely, and I'd love for you two to just get married already so you can stop running around my lab acting like two preschoolers with a crush that don't want anybody else to know." He smiled.

"Ah, you picked up on that?" Danny sounded defeated but in a good natured manner.

"Everyone has, Danny, we're detectives. An office romance isn't all that hard for us to figure out." Just then Mac's phone rang, "Taylor... You're kidding... I'll be right there." He hung up, and looked to Danny,

"Work?"

"Yeah…Apparent drowning at the top of the Statue of Liberty. I have to go." He got up and pulled on his coat. "Thanks for dinner, and I'm sorry for falling apart there."

"its okay, Man, I get it… I'm sorry… About her. Thanks for coming, I know it was inconvenient and you really made me think and helped me. I mean… I knew before that she was the one… But now, well now it's just validated everything and made me realize that I know that we'll be a couple that lives in love forever, just like the fairytales and movies teach people." Mac smiled at this,

"You will, I know." Danny extended his hand for another handshake, and Mac ignored it and wrapped Danny in a hug. "Thank you." He said again, and Danny awkwardly placed his arms around Mac. It wasn't something he had every thought he'd do, but he'd learned more about Mac today than he had in 7 years of working with him. "Now you go catch a cab and get your ass to that jeweler to buy Lindsay that ring!" Danny broke the hug,

"Hey, don't you have a murder to go solve, get out of here!" Danny jested acting like he was disgusted and trying to get Mac out, when really he could've sat and talked and listened to him all night. " Hey, come back again!"

"I told you so!" Mac teased as he walked out the door, he and remembered the bet he and Danny had made a couple years earlier. "Told you you'd fall in love someday. Call and report to me when she says 'yes'!" He commanded as he started down the stairs to go to his car.

Danny went back inside to clean up the dinner dishes that hadn't yet been picked up. He then jumped into the shower to freshen up. Once he was out of the shower and in his pajamas, he threw in a few personal items he'd need in Montana, a toothbrush, deodorant, cologne, and a couple of sport magazines and books to keep him occupied on the plane in the morning.

As he lay in bed that night, his mind raced. His feelings began to flow in his mind in circles. He adored Lindsay, and knew that she was the only one he'd ever feel this way for. Having heard Mac talk, and cry, about his late wife had made him realize even more how much Lindsay truly meant to him. He also knew that just as strongly as he felt for her, she reciprocated for him. The only thing that was holding him back from running down to the store right now was that he knew that Lindsay wanted to have been in a long-term steady relationship for a long while after having met the man she'd later call her husband. _She's only known me a year and a half or so. Likewise, we've only been an item for a few months, and haven't really publically said anything yet. I don't care what Mac says, we haven't made it obvious that we were anything more than playful flirting… But if she wants me to meet her family…. She wouldn't want to do that if she wasn't at least thinking of having a future with me…_


	2. Chapter 2

Chapter 2:

The plane ride couldn't have gone by any faster for Danny. All he could think was about his nerves and how he wasn't on "his turf" any longer. Sure, he'd been in Montana before when he bought the plane ticket and met Lindsay in the courtroom, but he'd just supported her, he had had nothing to do with her family. Before he knew it, he was landing at the airport and being boarded off the plane. He wasn't quite sure where he was going, he hadn't spoken to Lindsay about meeting or anything, but he trusted that if she had gone to the trouble of getting him here then she would have planned a way of finding him.

Sure enough, once inside the crowded halls past the gate, Lindsay was standing waiting for him. _Damn. _Danny saw her immediately, and she looked radiant. Lindsay had straightened her hair and done her makeup more extensively than she did in New York. She had on a tight pair of jeans that complimented her figure perfectly and a brown and white checkered, but still chic, farm looking shirt. The cowboy boots completed the look nicely, and her smile was the most noticeable change of her appearance. The smile was genuine, even more so than the ones she had shared with Danny many times in New York, he suspected the reason for his was because she was in her home state, where she had grown up and lived for so long. Caught up in her face, Danny hadn't even realized that both of them were moving, and before he knew it, Lindsay's arms were wrapped around his neck and her face nuzzled against his chest. He squeezed her tightly against him in a gentle way, giving her soft kisses on her head and cheeks. "Welcome to Montana!" Lindsay enthused, still holding his a once the hug was over, searching for something to say. "It's beautiful, you'll love it!"

"Not as beautiful as _my _Montana, I know." Danny smirked, and it took Lindsay a moment to comprehend what it was that he had meant.

"You're sweet," She blushed, smiling shyly and looking up at him with batting eyelashes. "I can't wait for you to meet Mom and Dad, they'll love you." She grabbed his hand, and pulled him out into the parking lot to her car, considering that his only bag was a carry-on and he wouldn't need to wait in any luggage line thankfully.

_Won't you meet me in Montana_

_I wanna see the mountains your eyes._

_Woah, Woah I had all of this life I can handle_

_Meet me underneath that big Montana sky._

The chorus of the song played on the radio and Danny glanced at Lindsay, who was smiling knowing fully and probably not paying as much attention to the road as she should've been while driving. Danny looked at the cup holder, and sure enough Lindsay MP3 player was lying there. "You're playing this music on purpose." Danny grinned,

"I'm just glad you listened, or rather found that note. I should've asked you in person, but I didn't." They soon approached a small chain of mountains in a very rural area, and Lindsay pulled off the side of the road and got out of the car.  
"What are you doing?" Danny asked a bit nervously, watching as Lindsay ran farther off the road, dancing around in the cornfield they were stopped near.

"You," She was back to the car at this point, and had opened Danny's door, pulling at his arms to get him to get out of the car. He obeyed, and followed Lindsay as she scampered back to the middle of the field. She stopped suddenly and stood across from Danny, gazing deep into his eyes, her arms around his neck and his at her waist. She stood on her tiptoes and gave Danny a quick peck on the lips, to which he insisted on becoming a passionate kiss of hunger and meaning. "I knew the mountains would look gorgeous in your eyes," She reached up and took off his eyeglasses with one hand and was stroking his cheek with her other, "Now I can see them better." She kissed him again in a rush, more from adrenaline than anything else, and once their lips parted Danny came back with a typical remark that still seemed to hold a total feeling of originality because it was how he truly was feeling.

"Not nearly as beautiful as you," He hugged her close, not wanting to ever let go. "There's not another place I'd rather be." He wished he could take a photo of the two of them, embraced on the brightest grassy fields he had ever seen, under a never-ending canvas of blue above them that only seemed to end vertically when the enormous snow peaked tips of the mountains met with the sky, it would've been a picture both would've loved. _We could show it to our kids. _The thought pushed into Danny's mind and he couldn't do anything to stop it.

"Hotel? I figured you'd stay in with your parents." Danny's tone didn't evade surprise.

"Yeah, why not?" Lindsay asked, equally as shocked.

"Just thought that we'd stay with your parents, I mean that's why I've done whenever I've met other girls' parents. All the other girls I've dated have either made me sleep in a separate room in their parents' home or made me stay in a hotel by myself. I-"

"Well, Danny," She got close to him, and ran her fingers up his bare chest, speaking in her most sensual voice "I'm not all your past girlfriends, and I've got plans for us tonight." He smiled at the innuendo,

"As great as that sounds I-" Danny started, hypnotized by the little things Lindsay had been doing sicne they had gotten to their hotel in attempts to put on an act of sexiness. Truthfully, he couldn't resist her charm, and it was taking all his power not to make love to her right then and there. Lindsay's mood abruptly changed, and as she spoke she sounded hurt and offended,

"Do you not want me to stay with you, Daniel Messer? If you don't, then I'll leave but-"

"No, Linds, I want you to. I really do." He seemed to whine,

"Really? 'Cause you sure could've fooled me." She fired back hotly.

"I just…" He took a deep breath and looked up at Lindsay, arms crossed and a look telling him he had better have a good explanation in store, from the spot he was sitting, shirt in hand, on the bed. " I want your parents to like me, Lindsay, I've never felt the way I feel about you for anyone, and I want them to approve of me." He eyed her, making sures she was paying attention still, " I don't think they'd like to know their little girl is staying in a hotel room with some guy that they are just meeting. If I had a daughter, I'd never be okay with that! I don't want your parents, or your brothers, to think I'm just some loser thug from New York who doesn't have anything going for them and only with their lovely daughter and sister for a piece of ass. I don't want them to think I'm trash and not worthy of you."

"Danny," She soothed, her facial expression easing, crossing the room to sit beside him on the bed. She placed her hand on his arm that homed his tattoo and spoke softly, "They'll love you, I promise."

"How do you know that?" Danny seemed defensive,

"Because…" She blushed and avoided eye contact for a moment, then found it again, "I love you, and that's all that matters to them."

"So you could lover a serial killer and they'd support you?" Danny asked, showing that he wasn't totally sold on what she was saying.

"You're a scientist and a detective, Danny, in homicides; they know you're not a murderer." She joked,

"You sure about that?" He teased more in an attempt to calm himself down. She nodded,

"Now, put your shirt on and don't be so nervous!" She fake scolded, grabbing his shirt out of his hand and then thrusting it back at him. "Just be yourself and they'll love you, Danny, because I do."

"I love you too, Montana." He mumbled, slipping his black shirt on and searching through his suitcase to find the jacket he had packed for this meeting-casual but classy.

"Hurry up, Danny, we need to be there in 20 minutes. Punctuality is a big deal for us, that's one way not to make a good impression." The first part was a demand, then second more of a joke but still prompting him to hurry.

A/N Only one more chapter left, like I said short and sweet, but all thoughts are appreciated!


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